Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone is again ready to run Formula One on a full-time basis after ridding himself of what he described as 'three and a half years of aggravation'.

After spending three months on trial in a Munich district court on charges of bribery and incitement to breach of trust, on Tuesday Ecclestone paid a £60million settlement to end the case.

Bavarian state law allows defendants to make such a payment, with no presumption of innocence or guilt, to a non-profit making organisation, or the treasury.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch F1 boss Ecclestone pays to end bribery trial

Back to business: Bernie Ecclestone is keen to get back to Formula One on a full-time basis after paying a £60m settlement to end a bribery case in Germany

Aggravation: Ecclestone, seen here giving an interview to a German TV station after leaving Munich District Court, described the case as 'three and a half years of aggravation'

VIDEO F1 boss Ecclestone pays to end bribery trial

In this instance, £58.6m will go directly to the German state, with the remainder to a German charity that looks after terminally-ill children.

It was not the scenario Ecclestone envisaged as he was determined to prove his innocence, but with the trial exacting a toll, the 83-year-old and his defence team decided to make the offer.

'The bottom line is it's been three and a half years of aggravation, travelling, meeting lawyers, and God knows what else, so it is good it is out of the way,' said Ecclestone, speaking to Press Association Sport.

'This trial has been going on for two days a week and it was going to go on until October.

'When you're trying to run businesses it's not easy trying to resolve things when you're dealing with lawyers.'

Settlement: Ecclestone paid £60m to end the case, with £68.6m going directly to the German state and the remainder to a German charity that looks after terminally ill children

In 2006, German regional bank BayernLB sold their 47.2 per cent stake in F1 to private equity firm, and the current majority shareholders, CVC Capital Partners.

Prosecutors claim Ecclestone paid Gerhard Gribkowsky, formerly the chief risk officer of BayernLB, a bribe of £26m to steer the sale to CVC.

Ecclestone claimed he was being 'shaken down' by Gribkowsky who was threatening to inform HM Revenue & Customs he controlled an offshore family trust known as Bambino Holdings.

Although Ecclestone has continually insisted the trust is not in his name, if an investigation had uncovered to the contrary he would have been liable for a tax bill of around £2billion.

Gallingly for Ecclestone, if the trial had run its course through to October, in all likelihood he would have been acquitted.

Consultation: Ecclestone talks to his lawyer Sven Thomas after arriving in court on Tuesday

In summation, after deliberating for three hours on the offer made by the defence and agreed by the prosecution, presiding judge Peter Noll declared: 'The charges could not be substantiated.'

Ecclestone added: 'In the end what has happened today is good and bad - the good is the judge more or less said I was acquitted, and they (the prosecution) really didn't have a case.

'So I was a bit of an idiot to do what I did to settle because it wasn't with the judge, it was with the prosecutors.

'Anyway, it's done and finished, so it's all right. I'm content, it's all fine. This now allows me to do what I do best, which is running F1.'

In January, to alleviate his workload with the trial then looming, he agreed to stand down from a number of directorial positions on companies related to F1, including the main board.

Now, Ecclestone said 'I stood down for obvious reasons, but I'll be back on again now. Everything is back to normal.'